Anyone want to go on a cruise...........

Columbus (OH) firefighter David P. Santuomo will spend 90 days in jail and pay $4,500 in restitution for shooting his two dogs in the basement of his home and wrapping their bodies in a plastic sheet.

Investigators say Santuomo, 43, of 2945 Rushbury Dr., has admitted that he was going on a cruise with his girlfriend and didn't want to pay to board the dogs Sloopy and Skeeter even though two neighbors offered to watch the animals in his absence. At the time, he lived on Essington Drive near Dublin.

Franklin County Municipal Judge Harland H. Hale accepted guilty pleas to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possessing a criminal tool a homemade silencer Santuomo used on the end of a rifle.

The pleas today could jeopardize Santuomo's career. He still faces an internal disciplinary hearing with Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. He has been a firefighter since 1996.

Assistant County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said the facts of the case are brutal:

On Dec. 3, Santuomo laid down a plastic sheet in his basement and tied the dogs to a pipe, partially suspending their bodies. He shot them multiple times, then dumped their carcasses in a trash bin behind Fire Station 27 at 7560 Smoky Row Rd., where he was assigned.

"He later bragged about killing his pets to fellow firefighters, and he showed no remorse, even joking about it,"Robinson said. "Fellow firefighters were disgusted by what he did, and the Capital Area Humane Society was called to investigate."

Hale sentenced Santuomo to 90 days in jail and ordered him to pay a $150 fine. He must have no pets or firearms in his home for five years and serve 200 hours of community service; undergo random home inspections; and pay $4,500 in restitution for the costs of the investigation to the county and the Capital Area Humane Society, from which he had adopted the dogs.

He also was ordered to write a letter of apology to a firefighters magazine and to readers of The Dispatch.

Hale said Santuomo will be permitted to serve his jail time in 10-day stints over a two-year period.
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This story really sickens me......what was this guy thinking? Kill your dog's so you can go on a cruise with your girlfriend? I'm glad his co-worker's reported him and turned him into authorities.

‎"The education of a firefighter and the continued education of a firefighter is what makes "real" firefighters. Continuous skill development is the core of progressive firefighting. We learn by doing and doing it again and again, both on the training ground and the fireground."
Lt. Ray McCormack, FDNY

The Columbus firefighter who killed his family dogs instead of boarding them should be fired, Chief Ned Pettus Jr. recommended today.

Safety Director Mitchell Brown will have the final say on what happens to firefighter David Santuomo.

The city has received more than 2,000 complaints from the public concerning Santuomo, 43, who pleaded guilty in June to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possessing a criminal tool after an investigation showed he tied two dogs to a pipe in his basement, spread a plastic sheet and shot the dogs 11 times.
An assistant county prosecutor said Santuomo then bragged to fellow firefighters about shooting the dogs so he could go on a vacation cruise without paying for boarding.

The bodies of the dogs were discovered in a trash bin behind Santuomo's firehouse on Smoky Row Road by the Capital Area Humane Society, who was called to investigate.

Franklin County Environmental Judge Harland H. Hale sentenced the firefighter to 90 days in jail and fined him restitution and costs of more than $4,650.

He also ordered Santuomo to perform 200 hours of community service, refrain from owning pets or weapons for the next five years and undergo random house checks.

Santuomo has yet to apologize for his crimes in writing, another condition of his plea.

Santuomo had a 30-minute hearing Wednesday before Pettus, according to division spokesman David Whiting, a battalion chief.

Santuomo attended the hearing with a union representative, but not an attorney.

Pettus sent a standard, one-page internal memo to Brown in which he recommended termination for the 13-year veteran, Whiting said.

Court records show Santuomo also is facing trial for a misdemeanor criminal charge of passing a bad check.

His driver's license also was suspended for failing to pay a traffic fine in February. In that case, he was granted driving privileges for trips to the gas station, groceries and to and from work. The license suspension expires in September.

Santuomo joined the Columbus Division of Fire in 1996. His personnel files since then show that he's been verbally reprimanded several times, including for being late for work six times. He also was reprimanded three times for making discourteous comments to co-workers and the public.

In 2007, Santuomo was disciplined for allowing his basic Emergency Medical Technician license to expire. The license is required by the state of Ohio and the union contract.
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Disgraced Columbus firefighter David Santuomo, who executed his family pets and lied about it to investigators, was fired today by Safety Director Mitchell Brown.

The Dispatch and WBNS-TV (Channel 10) have learned that Santuomo sent a threatening text message to a fellow firefighter because he thought a Columbus police officer had turned him in to the Capital Area Humane Society.

The message said, "You realize that there is a funeral in CPD's future," according to the internal-affairs investigative report.

That information was forwarded to prosecutors and the safety director, sources said.

Last week, Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. recommended that Santuomo be fired. Only the safety director can fire firefighters under the city charter.

Brown did so today.

"After careful consideration of the relevant facts ... it is my decision to uphold the recommendation of Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. and terminate Firefighter David Santuomo from the position of firefighter for the City of Columbus," Brown said in a statement. "As in all personnel matters, no further comment will be made at this time."

Thousands of people have called for Santuomo's firing through e-mails, letters and phone calls to The Dispatch and the city.

Santuomo, a firefighter since 1996, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possessing a criminal tool after a seven-month investigation. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $4,650 in restitution and costs.

Franklin County Municipal Judge Harland H. Hale said today that Santuomo, 43, will be expected to serve his jail sentence all at once. Hale had written in a sentencing memo that the firefighter could serve the time in 10-day increments beginning in September but only if he was still employed.

Santuomo was to meet with a probation officer Friday to begin serving 200 hours of community service. He also was to provide a written apology to the citizens of Columbus.

He shot the dogs in the basement of his home on Essington Drive on the Northwest Side, reportedly because he didn't want to pay boarding costs for them while he and his girlfriend went on a cruise. He admitted tying the dogs to a pipe and shooting them 11 times on Dec. 3.

An assistant county prosecutor said Santuomo dumped the dogs' bodies in a trash bin behind the Smoky Row Road firehouse where he works, then bragged about it.

Santuomo is a divorced father with two sons. His personnel file shows several reprimands for being late for work and two for improper remarks made on fire dispatching radios.

He was rejected by the Fire Division in 1990 because of his poor eyesight, according to his employment application. He was hired six years later despite his record of driving suspensions, a bankruptcy and two terminations from labor-related jobs.